Anyone Use Virgin Mobile?

[speakerman39]

Folks, is there anyone here that uses or has used Virgin Mobile? If so, what has been your experience with them? I know they handle Sprint's pre-paid service as does Boost Mobile. However, here locally I can ONLY get 3g service. Does that really mean my service would be very slow if I chose Virgin Mobile as my cell phone provider. You see, I feel a bit uneasy locking myself into a 2-year contract with Verizon/ATT. I am fully aware that they have the best 4g/LTE coverage, but it also is rather expensive AND they BOTH limit data usage. As such, I am now looking for other alternatives. Thus, I really like the Samsung Galaxy Victory phone. Furthermore, I can get this phone reasonably priced and my unlimited plan would only cost me $60 per/month. I am fully aware of the 2.5gb limit. That is, after reaching the 2.5 gb data limit the speeds would slow down some. But, I can only get 3g anyways. So, perhaps it really would not slow down all that much....am I correct? The questions is, however, how well does 3g really work? Is it decent? I don't have to have the fastest or the best of the best. But, I do not want speeds so slow that drives me crazy either. The $60 per/month includes insurance on my phone. The Samsung Galaxy Victory really looks to be a good phone for the money and no contracts! Any and all help would be most appreciated. Thank you for reading my thread. Have a great day.


Cheers,

Phil

 

[Grador]

I found virgin mobile's 3g to be acceptable. It's not as quick as ATT's "4G" [which is what i'm on now] and it certainly isn't as fast as LTE. As a general rule I was easily able to stream youtube with it at high quality for cellphone and was usually able to stream at 720p.

Word of warning, i hear they actually slow you down quite a bit past the limit of unlimted. Enough that streaming video will likely be a no-no.

 

[speakerman39]

Thanks Grador for your input. It is good to hear that 3g is decent. That is all I can basically get via the Sprint network right now. I went into a nearby Sprint store and was told that 4g/LTE should be available in the Fall. I highly doubt that LTE will be available, but the 4g is doable inmho. At least, it should be improved somewhat. As far as streaming goes, I will do most of that at home. The cap of 2.5 GB of data should suffice for the most part. If you don't mind me asking, what phone did you use on VM? What do you think about using this one? Samsung Galaxy Victory 4G LTE Android Prepaid Cell Phone | Virgin Mobile USA

It seems like a really good deal to me. I can get the Samsung Galaxy Victory phone for $187! Do you recommend a different phone? Oh, btw did you have any problems with dropped calls while using VM? I know they all have them, but was it anything excessive? Please elaborate as much as you would like. I am all ears....LOL!


Cheers,

Phil

 

[Grador]

I was using a LG Optimus V. I didn't make any phonecalls on it at all. I was still on my parents family plan with a basic phone, and at the time it was cheaper to get a second phone for data only than get data on ATT.

The reason didn't drop the ATT phone is that I had zero coverage at my house.

 

[speakerman39]

I see. So, if I understand you correctly you only used the LG Optimus for your data needs via VM. Am I correct? It is good to hear that 3g is at the very least decent. If I do decide to go with VM, hopefully Sprint will upgrade my coverage to 4g/LTE in the very near future. That would really be nice to see. Once you reached your data limit with VM, was your connection really that much slower? Did it take forever and a day per se to load a page? Is 2.5 gb of data really not that much? Like I mentioned previously, I plan to use a lot of wifi at home and on the go when using Netflix, Pandora, and etc. I also plan to load my own music onto my phone as opposed to streaming it from the 3g network all of the time. My 32" tv is 720p anyways which is fine by me. Did you happen to take a look at the phone I am interested in? What are your thoughts? Sorry for so many questions, but I am new to smartphones. Thanks once again for your insights.


Cheers,

Phil

 

[Grador]

You are correct in how i used the phone.

I never hit the cap, so I don't have 1st and experience of how much slower, but some of my coworkers have been complaining about how slow their phones are working right now.

On average I use only .8 gig a month, but I'm very conservative on data use. I don't really stream anything for fear of $$$.

As for the phone, I'm not familiar with it at all.

 

[speakerman39]

Thanks once again for your input. I will look further into it.


Cheers,

Phil

 

[Cos]

When you do go over the data cap it uses 2G data, and that is slow....but if you don't use more than 2.5G then it doesn't matter. As I stated before I would really test it out before you use a Sprint enabled device in your neck of the woods.

 

[speakerman39]

When you do go over the data cap it uses 2G data, and that is slow....but if you don't use more than 2.5G then it doesn't matter. As I stated before I would really test it out before you use a Sprint enabled device in your neck of the woods.

Yeah, I plan to visit the local Sprint store again. They had the Samsung Galaxy Victory phone in their case, but it was not charged up. I did not get to play with it any. Next time I go there, I will be sure to have some extra time to really check it out. I do remember what you told me regarding Sprint problems in my area. I guess you really do get what you pay for. Thanks for your help.


Cheers,

Phil

 

[speakerman39]

Well folks, I learned a little more that I wanted to about Virgin Mobile the other day. That is, I learned that VM does NOT offer roaming. So, if there is no tower, then there simply is no service. In other words, VM is limited to the Sprint network ONLY. Well, that is a deal breaker for sure. Like I said before you get EXACTLY what you pay for. As such, it is back to the drawing boards so to speak. Glad I learned about this now.


Cheers,

Phil

 

[Cos]

Well folks, I learned a little more that I wanted to about Virgin Mobile the other day. That is, I learned that VM does NOT offer roaming. So, if there is no tower, then there simply is no service. In other words, VM is limited to the Sprint network ONLY. Well, that is a deal breaker for sure. Like I said before you get EXACTLY what you pay for. As such, it is back to the drawing boards so to speak. Glad I learned about this now.


Cheers,

Phil

Not sure I quite understand what you are saying there. Voice mail will still be active for the person calling you. If you are roaming on a different network, you would not get notifications of voice mail, but the voice mail would still be in Sprint's system. (i.e. you can still call your number from a land line and get your voice mail)

You can still roam on other networks, but you will lose some functionality and possibly experience slower data speeds.

The point I have made multiple times is that I believe that Sprint has poor network coverage in your area, and if you are roaming all the time, then definitely its not the right carrier for you.

 

[Grador]

I'm pretty sure speakerman is right in that VM uses ONLY sprint network. I had completely forgotten about this or I would have mentioned it in my earlier posts.

Edit: Also by VM both speakerman and I mean Virgin Mobile, not Voice Mail

 

[Cos]

Ahh! Lightbulb goes on over head. Was not aware VM was Virgin Mobile

If they don't have roaming agreements, I would avoid like the plague in your area

 

[speakerman39]

I'm pretty sure speakerman is right in that VM uses ONLY sprint network. I had completely forgotten about this or I would have mentioned it in my earlier posts.

Edit: Also by VM both speakerman and I mean Virgin Mobile, not Voice Mail

I was told that VM does not allow roaming of any kind. They are bound strictly by the Sprint network. That is, no Sprint tower means no service. At least, that is how it was explained to me. I can get 3g speeds with a 2.5 GB data limit, then I am throttled down significantly.


Cheers,

Phil

 

[speakerman39]

Ahh! Lightbulb goes on over head. Was not aware VM was Virgin Mobile

If they don't have roaming agreements, I would avoid like the plague in your area

Yeah, the no roaming thing is a deal breaker for sure. Not to mention, only having 3g speeds with a limit of only 2.5 GB data. VM is NOT for me. It looks like you get what you pay for.


Cheers,

Phil